4/30/10

Chess Squares: Finger-lick' Good Recipes Friday/Weighing In

Chess Squares
No Southern gathering in complete without a pan of these gooey gems!

I first learned of Chess Squares when Mrs. Betty Austin gave me the recipe for making them at a bridal recipe shower held for me, when Larry and I were getting married. The recipe was new in our area in the mid-80's, and everyone quickly fell in love with Chess Squares! We all pretty much immediately started playing around with the recipe, seeing how many different varieties of Chess Squares we could invent. Hundreds of variations can be made by using different flavors of cake mix and by adding an array of "mix-in," such a chocolate chips, shredded coconut and pecans - just to name a few!

Paula Deen made these treats world-famous when she came on the cooking scene. Paula calls hers Gooey Butter Cakes. Paula's Gooey Butter Cakes are the same as Chess Squares, with an additional stick of melted butter added to the filling ingredients. Personally, I think 2 sticks of butter in this recipe is overkill. But, who am I to argue with Paula Deen? Butter has gotten her where she is today!

Here's the recipe for Chess Squares. If you like, add that extra stick of melted butter to the filling and call it Gooey Butter Cake!

Chess Squares

1 package butter cake mix

1 stick butter, softened

1 egg, lightly beaten

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 box confectioners' sugar, about 3½ cups

3 eggs, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Crust:

Combine cake mix, butter and one egg. (I like to "cut" the butter into the cake mix - like you're making biscuits, and then add the egg. I really think it makes the texture better. Some recipes call for you to melt this stick of butter. Either way works! It's up to you!)

Pat crust mixture into 9x13-inch pan.

Filling:

With an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, confectioner’s sugar and three eggs until smooth.

5 comments:

Well, I'm holding at the same one-pound-down weight, but these recipes - I blame them! Here's the one that prevented me from being lower this morning, I calculated it was almost 600 calories for my portion, and I used 2% instead of cream! Worth every bite - or at least the first several :-)http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/04/pasta-with-tomato-blue-cheese-sauce/

MEAL PLANNING HELPS

The PlanMy number one suggestion for meal planning is to keep it simple! Guard against letting it become a time-consuming chore that you dread. Below is a link for my very simple, no-frills shopping list and menu planner.

I create my daily menu plan at the top, adding ingredients to purchase on the shopping list portion at the bottom. I place the entire form in my coupon binder when I go shopping. When I return home, I clip off the top portion, which contains the menu plan, and post it near the oven. I toss the used shopping list portion. I usually print about 12 of these forms at a time. Print page one first. Flip the stack, and print page two on the back.To help keep planning time simple and quick, we have “nights” for certain types of dishes. We arevery flexible with it, especially adjusting to try new recipes. The "nights" just provides a good jumping off point for our plans! We change the "nights" several time throughout the year to keep our meal plan from becoming too boring and to allow room for more new dishes.

Here’s our basic plan at the moment:

I usually start by planning our pizza night first. I then plan our other meats around the meat I’ve chosen for the pizza.

Mondays are “Pasta Night.”

Tuesdays are “Pizza Night.”

Wednesdays are “Comfort Food Night.”

Thursdays are “Breakfast-for-Supper or Leftovers Buffet Night.”

Fridays are “Eat Out Night.” (Meal planning makes it much easier to find the funds to go out to eat on Fridays!)

Saturdays are a toss up. I usually just wait and see what everyone’s plans are for the evening!

Sundays - We generally eat a large, late lunch on Sundays. For supper, depending on how hungry we are, we eat a small snack or grab a milk shake after church.

Family InvolvementAlthough it is often times much easier, quicker and less messy to cook yourself, involve your family in the cooking of meals. Make it a fun family time. Be sure to require them to help clean-up! Everyone will learn some great life skills, and it has been our experience, that some of our best conversations take place as we cook together, set the table and tidy-up the kitchen. The kitchen truly can be the heart of the home!

Using CouponsCoupons can be a bane or a blessing, depending on how you use them. Here's a link to how I make coupons work for us: